The Great Evaluator

WASHINGTON -- White House Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Monday that President Barack Obama will "evaluate" new legislation that effectively bans online sales of gun ammunition, but he wouldn't say whether the president could support it.

During the daily White House briefing, Earnest told The Huffington Post that he didn't know if Obama had seen the bill filed Monday by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.). The measure would significantly curb the ability of people to anonymously buy unlimited amounts of ammunition via the Internet or other types of mail orders. It would also require ammunition dealers to report bulk sales of bullets to law enforcement.

In 1999, he urged prohibiting the operation of any gun store within five miles of a school or park, which according to gun-rights advocates would eliminate gun stores from most of the inhabited portion of the United States.[51] He sponsored a bill in 2000 limiting handgun purchases to one per month.

As state senator, he voted against a 2004 measure that allowed self-defense as an affirmative defense for those charged with violating local laws making it otherwise unlawful for such persons to possess firearms.[52] He also voted against allowing persons who had obtained domestic violence protective orders to carry handguns for their protection.[51]

From 1994 through 2002, Obama was a board member of the Joyce Foundation, which amongst other non-gun related activities provides funds for gun control organizations in the United States.[53][54]

While in the U.S. Senate, Obama has supported several gun control measures, including restricting the purchase of firearms at gun showsand the reauthorization of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban.[55]Obama voted against legislation protecting firearm manufacturers from certain liability suits, which gun-rights advocates say are designed to bankrupt the firearms industry.[56]Obama did vote in favor of the 2006 Vitter Amendment to prohibit the confiscation of lawful firearms during an emergency or major disaster, which passed 84–16.[57]

During a February 15, 2008, press conference, Obama stated, "I think there is an individual right to bear arms, but it's subject to commonsense regulation."[58]Obama has also stated his opposition to allowing citizens to carry concealed firearms[59] and supports a national law outlawing the practice,[60][61] saying on Chicago Public Radio in 2004 "I continue to support a ban on concealed carry laws".[62]

You can cluck all you want about what a terrible candidate Mitt Romney is, and what a terrible president he would be -- and you should. But for me, the real story of this election, and the one that may be more ominous for America's future, is the cowering timidity of President Obama and his administration.